wait.. so you had the air moving into the case for the H50, and out of the case (warm air) with the Eco?

I understand that is the "manufacturers recommended setup" but that's not apples-to-apples.. that's like comparing an apple to a chair. Well, maybe not a chair.. anyways..
Any chance we can get data with both blowing in, and both blowing out (single/double fans)

Overall, a good review.. I don't agree with the testing methodology if you're directing air differently. I also would have liked to know if the Eco comes with a second set of screws for dual fan setup (packaging and accessories)

Also, I'd like to have seen a stock TIM comparison on the H50 vs ECO.. and to see how the MX2 improves/doesn't improve vs stock. Average users would still probably use MX-2 or equal.. I am just curious on how their stock TIM applications would hold up.

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I understand that is the "manufacturers recommended setup" but that's not apples-to-apples.. that's like comparing an apple to a chair. Well, maybe not a chair.. anyways..

I understand where you are coming from but I don't agree. Yes, we could have used both blowing in the same direction but that would have been against the manufacturer recommendations and installation instructions for at least one of the units. This would have been akin to using a Crossbow mounting kit for an air cooler than originally came with Push-Pins just to have an "apples to appleas" comparison.

Corsair actually STRONGLY recommends AGAINST modifying the airflow direction on their water coolers in their Reviewer's Guide.

We install these things as per the installation directions provided with the units which (IMO) is the best way to go about it. This is the way that literally 90% of users will likely go with.

AkG will be receiving an H70 in the coming days and I am sure he will do a short investigation into exhaust versus intake setup performance and its effect on in-case / CPU temps.

Just want to clear the air on the intake / exhaust thing. For the record, in our reviewer letter we strongly encourage testing each cooler in their standard configuration (hot air out for us, hot air in Corsair) and then testing them both as intake, both exhaust. Doing so shows you not only what you get out of the box but also the difference that intake vs exhaust makes. As you can imagine, using the fan as an intake is going to lead to better CPU temps because you are pulling cool air from outside your chassis across that rad. The downside of that config is that you are dumping that heat into your chassis where it doesn't belong.

We ship all of our units configured as exhaust fans because we would rather take the 2 - 3C hit in performance and get that hot air out of your chassis rather than risk overheating someones GPU or mainboard. Our fan is removable so you can turn it around as an intake and get those benefits but since you have to actually touch it.. it encourages you to think about what you are doing. Think about the user who has only one exhaust fan in the back of his chassis. Take that exhaust fan out and replace it w/ an intake thats blowing hot air off your CPU back into the box. Not good.

Anyways, I think you will find that when you test them in the same fan configuration that the ECO is actually performing slightly better. Hope this is of interest to some of you out there. Stay tuned for the next HWC review of our upcoming Vantage A.L.C (aka ECO Einstein)

Honestly, the cooling of all these single bay, single thickness units is going to be close. To my way of thinking it is the other factors which are going to sway people towards one over another. Personally I would take a Eco over the H50 or Domino any day as the ease of installation is just simply light years ahead of the competition. It really is the best combination of the CoolIT "old" and the "new" that is just damn fine. I have talked to other people who own both and they all the say the same thing, the H50 may slightly be better at cooling BUT the eco is the one they would buy again. It really is a great first time user's all in one WC kit.

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